


I See You

by NeuroWriter14



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Do not repost, Episode: s01e07 Sorbet, M/M, Mentions of Violence, mentions of cannibalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28084320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeuroWriter14/pseuds/NeuroWriter14
Summary: The night Will brings Hannibal the wine turns out not the be the same night as the party.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 18
Kudos: 161





	I See You

Hannibal was surprised when he opened his door to find Will on the other side, a bottle of wine in hand. He was grateful though, to open his door to such a welcome sight. Will's dark curls had snow peppered through it, sitting lightly on his curls as though he were wearing a crown of snow. He was looking down appraisingly at the bottle when Hannibal opened the door. His brows furrowed as though the bottle in his hand somehow offended him. Hannibal was content to stare at him for a moment, as Will read the label of the wine, to commit to memory the sight of his longer hair and lack of glasses. Will hardly ever wore his glasses around Hannibal anymore. His mask was down around Hannibal as he seemed to think Hannibal was the one person he didn't have to hide from. 

If only Hannibal didn't have to hide from him as well. 

His secret, what a secret he kept, he kept from everyone including Will. Not that he wanted to keep it from Will. Will was the one person, the first person since he was younger, that he wanted to share his secret with and in time he would. But plans were in motion and they were not easily changed. 

"Hello, Will." The other's brilliant ocean colored yes moved upward then, finding Hannibal's gaze. His brows furrowed for a second more, the same heavy gaze as in the ambulance, before his face relaxed and a small, shy smile crossed his lips. 

"I-" He paused, looking down at the wine again. "I brought wine." 

"I can see that," Hannibal answered fondly, stepping aside to let the other in. How he adored that shy gaze and the attempt to hide behind curls. How he adored Will in general. His soft smile, his curls, the way he felt the need to look away when he would finally smile, the tenor of his laugh, the way he bent around himself as though he were trying so desperately to hide the darkness that was so obviously within him. Or obvious to Hannibal anyway. "Might I ask the occasion?" 

"As a 'thank you.'" Though Will's response was more of a question than a statement.

"Our patient in the ambulance lived?" Hannibal asked, though he knew the answer. He didn't let himself betray his knowledge on his face though, instead studying the wine that Will offered carefully as though he were afraid of Hannibal's touch. He was careful as he took the wine, though he wanted their fingers to brush. Any touch of Will's was enough to hold him over until the next time and every sight of Will was nourishing in a way he never felt before. Oh, he knew love and this was far beyond that. This wasn't just love, but the promise of acceptance at some point in the future. 

"Yes," Will breathed.

"Have you eaten?" Hannibal asked, though once again he knew the answer. 

"No." 

Hannibal turned the wine over in his hands, looking at it and deciding what paired best with it. It was fitting that the wine Will brought was the wine he shared with Will. He was grateful that the party was tomorrow rather than this night, as it gave him a chance to spend the night with Will. Alone. Truly alone. Not in his office, not in the classroom where he had found Will the night before. But in his house. The place Will had escaped to once before, when his mind was awake while his body asleep. Will's illness had been growing, Hannibal could smell it. 

And it ached him. 

"Then join me for dinner," Hannibal said, giving no room for protest.

Though Will opened his mouth to try and then closed it again, nodding in such a way that his curls bounced. Hannibal could see the thoughts churning behind his eyes, something the younger man wanted to say but was hesitant to. Hannibal wanted to press, but he knew Will not as pliable as some thought. Will was steady and powerful and a force to behold, if not for encephalitis and Hannibal's own intervention. Hannibal wasn't easily bent either. What a force they would make together. 

He turned, moving toward the kitchen and feeling Will hot on his heals. 

He hadn't put on his suit coat again, leaving only his shirt, vest, and tie on. Though he rarely cooked with a jacket on anyway. His sleeves were rolled up and he couldn't help but think of the last time Will had seen him like this, just the night before. The heavy look in Will's eyes, accompanied by something that Hannibal could swear was arousal. He probably could have known for sure if he were closer. 

Will was much closer now, directly behind him as though he would reach out and turn Hannibal around at any moment. He almost wanted him to. 

Ultimately, Hannibal decided to dip into the foods he had prepped previously for the dinner the next night. The other was silent near him, accepting Hannibal's offer to let him sous chef wordlessly, moving to Hannibal's side with ease. It was as though he belonged there, so easily falling into step and managing the dish without the heavy handedness that most inexperienced chefs had. It was as though Will had found his way into Hannibal's mind and plucked out the hand movements, the spices, the way to tilt the blade when slicing, for himself. And perhaps he had. Will was afraid of his mind, but Hannibal found it a beautiful place. And he quite coveted beauty. 

A few minutes before dinner was ready, he uncorked the wine and what a pick it was. He could already tell it would pair well with the meal, just based on the whiff he had already. Though he was far more focused on Will who was once again staring at the wine as though it was offensive to him in some way. But the look vanished quickly when his eyes turned to Hannibal and again, there were the wheels turning in that brilliant mind. 

And for once, Hannibal was afraid. 

Mostly because he had seen that look before, the previous night. Will knew something and he wasn't certain what. Or what would happen when he found out. He should kill Will before he could tell anyone. Be done with his whole experiment and take what he wanted. Maybe his brain. Or perhaps his heart. 

But the more he looked into those eyes, the more he realized he would much rather have Will alive. 

And besides, dinner was ready. 

Hannibal plated the meal as Will readied the table and then the two of them found their way there. Normally, Hannibal sat at the head of the table, no matter who his guest was. But he found that he couldn't with Will. Though it was closer to Will, it was also putting himself above him in a way. Instead, he placed himself across from Will whose form was illuminated by the fire at his back. 

Hannibal spent the meal appreciating the rather delicious wine and Will's even more delectable company. Dinner turned into dessert and dessert turned into drinks in the study. 

He couldn't help but watch the other who stood by the fire, looking into it as though it had the answers. Unlike before, Hannibal couldn't stop himself from prompting the other man, wanting to hear what demons were troubling that beautiful brain now. 

"People used to think fire held answers. Secrets. That it was a way to communicate with gods. It's a primal force, fire. What answers are you hoping to find in the flames?" 

Will sighed, his shoulder slumping as though he were hoping Hannibal wouldn't ask that question. A question he would have to answer and whatever the answer was, Will had been avoiding it all night. He was playing games with his own mind in the firelight, and Hannibal had a bad habit of trying to smoke out the truth. 

"You're the Ripper," Will said quietly. 

Hannibal froze and for a moment, all of the thoughts that he had previously ran through his mind before he threw them out. Will was frozen in place too, staring at the fire, his body tense. 

"Please don't lie to me," He said just as softly. 

His body was tense, ready. Ready for an attack that he was certain would come when Hannibal answered in some form. But with his statement didn't come an accusation but rather a request. A plea for the truth and nothing more. Will didn't know what he would do with the information any more than Hannibal did. It would be news to them both. He had hoped their relationship would be different when he confessed his secrets, that Will would embrace himself more and there would be a mutual understanding between them. But as it was, Will was still hiding and Hannibal had set plans into motion not easily undone. 

But for once his head and heart didn't seem to be working in tandem as his mouth answered before he could come up with a suitable lie. 

"Yes." 

Will tensed more and then relaxed. Hannibal could see the edge of his face, could see that his eyes were closed. He was resigned, willing to accept his fate which he surely thought was his death at Hannibal's hand. 

But Hannibal stayed where he was in his chair, his glass resting on the arm and one leg cross over the other. If Will wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop him. 

Will didn't leave, though. After a few minutes, his eyes opened once more and he let out a breath. Then, he set his glass down on the mantel and turned around. Hannibal expected him to leave but he didn't, instead looking at Hannibal. It seemed that the statement wasn't enough to silence the cogs churning in his mind. Will had come with the intension of confronting Hannibal all along, and he could see that now. But it didn't seem to be the only thing on his mind. That brain was still working, ideas flying behind those brilliant ocean eyes. 

Will had come to say more than his suspicions. 

"I saw you," He said quietly. "How easily you fixed up the man in the ambulance. You haven't been in an operating room in years. You told Jack you use scalpels on pencils. But you went into that so easily. Your hands didn't shake, you didn't question yourself. You saved his life." 

_Ah._ Here it was. Hannibal couldn't help but think that like Mischa, though inadvertently, Will would ask him to repress that part of himself. To push himself down as Will did to himself. 

But as Hannibal turned to see Will once more, the question in his eyes wasn't if he would reject a part of himself. 

"Why?" Will continued. It seemed that now that he had started, he was unstoppable. And what a beautiful force of nature he was. "You knew I would see it. See you. And you did it anyway. You could have faked it, made it seem like your time away had lessened the steadiness of your hand. That your time healing minds had made you forget how to heal bodies. You could have hid from me." 

_Me._

The word caught Hannibal's attention more than anything else in his question. Mostly because of everything that Hannibal knew was behind it. Jack wouldn't see him, not when he was so busy with catching his perpetrator and willfully blinding himself to things that weren't quite right with his friend. No one else that night would have paid enough attention after Hannibal took over. It was only Will. Will was the one who stayed close, who he knew would stay close, who would see him. 

And it seemed he saw him. 

Part of Hannibal had wanted that all along and maybe that was why he hadn't worried when Will stepped closer to the ambulance. When they made eye contact over the body of the man whose life was in Hannibal's hands. 

"Perhaps I don't want to hide from you." 

Hannibal finally set his drink down, looking away from Will as he did. 

The other sighed and Hannibal looked back up, ready to face the judgement that was now likely to come. But still, when he looked into those eyes, he could see the cogs were still whirring. What more did Will have to say? What more could he unearth this night that he hadn't already? He held Hannibal's entire life in his palm and could crush it with ease. 

Seeing as he was certain that this would be his only chance to seek a touch that he craved, he stood and moved slowly toward Will. The other watched him closely and didn't even flinch when Hannibal reached a hand out, resting it on his shoulder. After a moment, he dropped his hand. This was it. This was the end for him. Will, in trying so hard to be the good, would turn him in. And no matter Hannibal's obsession, maybe even his love, for Will, he would not be safe. Because those feelings were his and his alone. Not likely shared. 

"That's not all I came here for," Will continued. His voice was even softer than before and it seemed as though it pained him to force the words out. 

Hannibal prepared himself, readying for whatever further damaged the other would inflict. 

He was surprised when Will neared him instead. "Don't move." 

He obeyed, staying statue still as Will closed what distance was between them. His eyes watched Hannibal closely until they were almost too close to see each other anymore and Hannibal felt a feather light brush of lips. 

Oh. 

_Oh._

**_Oh._ **

That was what was whirring in Will's brilliant beautiful mind. 

The second time Will moved in, this time for a deeper kiss, Hannibal couldn't keep still. He pulled the other against him and Will went easily, folding into his grasp. Will's lips felt like heaven against his own just as Will's body felt like he belonged there, pressed against Hannibal. He was warm, partially from fever but also because Will himself was incredibly warm. And Hannibal wanted to bathe in the heat of his body. He shifted them slightly, fisting his hand in the curls at the back of Will's neck.

Will leaned against him. 

Hannibal's mind flew. He would have to take Will to the hospital in the morning where he would probably be on a 72 hour hold. But that was tomorrow. He wanted tonight, the night he knew he'd have with Will and Will alone. He would have to cancel his dinner tomorrow. It would be a shame to let all that food go to waste. But as he stood there, Will folded into his arms and their lips finding each other's over and over, he knew he would rather waste a million kills than risk losing this beautiful creature in his arms. 

"Hannibal," Will whispered when they parted for breath. "Slowly." 

"Of course," He answered immediately. He would take whatever Will gave him, even if it was slow. 

He was content to stay there by the fire with Will in his arms. 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come yell at me on [Tumblr](https://neurowriter14.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NWriter14)


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